the problem with flashbacks in your novel.
do they hurt or help? should you avoid them? is there a proper way to add them?
Read any book on writing and the advice given to an amateur writer is to avoid adding flashbacks to your novel. Saying they’ll ruin your novel before it even begins. However, some novels have flashbacks and they work. How do we explain this? Should a new writer avoid them altogether? Do they really hurt the novel or help?
in this blog, we will be looking at the problem with flashbacks in your novel...
THE PROBLEM WITH FLASHBACKS IN YOUR NOVEL
Table of Contents
First, before we can talk about the “problem” with flashbacks we have to answer the question of what is a flashback. Then we can talk about it being good or bad. A flashback is when the author pulls the reader out of the present main story to “events that have happened in the past.”
Giving you “information” about the characters, history, events leading up to the main storyline. Most flashbacks occur at the beginning of a novel. New authors will spend many chapters giving the reader a breakdown of who everyone is and how they relate to each other.
WE FIND THEM AT THE START OF NOVELS
Some flashbacks can be found after the first chapter. We see a lot of flashbacks in fantasy novels where the author feels it’s needed to fill the reader in on everything that has happened leading to the “start of the story.”
These flashbacks can go into great detail about the land, countries, people, wars, language. it’s like reading an encyclopedia or a long newspaper. Only after countless chapters giving long detailed explanations of everything does the story “begin.”
UNDERSTANDING PAST EVENTS
New authors like the idea of putting massive flashbacks into their novels right at the very start to give their story and characters depth and understanding. They want their characters to appear real to the reader, not something flat and two-dimensional. Wanting the reader to understand the past life of everyone in the story so the main story is that much more powerful.
The intent is good, but their flashback ends up hurting the novel. Instead of having a fast pace enjoyable novel from start to finish the flashbacks come along and slow the pace down to a point where anyone reading will stop.
A STORY IS AN ARROW SHOOTING FORWARD
While reading the long detailed flashback the reader fails to “connect” to any of the characters. They were not “pulled” into the novel. They didn’t experience the story through anyone’s eyes. The flashback broke the golden rule and turned the flashback into a “newspaper” breakdown of what “has” happened. Not what “is happening” or could happen. The flashback lacks tension or risk.
It’s important for all new authors to remember a story is like an arrow shooting forward. The reader must sense the flow, a movement to stay engaged. We have to “care” about the protagonist. identify with everyone involved. The reader wants to know “what will happen next”. The very heart of all stories is the reader wanting to know what will happen next. is the protagonist in danger? will they survive? Will they achieve their goal? The word used to describe this is “suspense.”
WE KNOW THEY WILL BE SAFE
However, the problem with flashbacks is we know the protagonist is safe no matter what happens. When we read a novel we want to know will the protagonist be successful at reaching their goal. Will they get what they need or will they fail? The reader wants to travel on a wonderful journey with the protagonist.
The problem is we clearly know whatever problem they face the protagonist will survive because they’re the ones telling the story. All tension is gone. the reader has no desire to turn the page.
WE END UP FEELING NOTHING
The main threat and antagonist are absent. the “goal” the protagonist isn’t there. it’s just “information dump.” it’s not easy or just flat out impossible to make “information dumps” suspenseful.
It’s like watching a prequel to an action movie. in the original movie the hero’s life is in danger at all times. we worry they may not succeed. We feel stressed when watching. However, if a prequel is made no matter what stressful situation the hero is in we don’t feel anything. we know they will be safe. we now feel bored. Clearly, they will be safe because they are the star of the original movie. if they die in the prequel the original movie could not exist.
IT LACKS ALL TENSION
When the audience went to see a “Rocky” sequel there was a chance he might die at the end. there was a rumor they wanted rocky to die at the end of part 4, and he was supposed to die in Rocky 5. (but it was changed at the last second). however, every time fans went to see a new “Rocky” movie they were not sure if he would survive at the end. causing everyone to feel tension.
However, if a prequel were made of “Rocky” there would no tension. because no matter what happens to him we know he would be safe because we know there are original rocky movies. all tension would be taken out of the movie.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN NEXT
These are rumors of prequels of an action movie “Die-Hard” being made. But they to would lack tension because we know John McClane would be alright no matter what happens because the prequels would be leading up to the original “Die Hard” movie. Taking all tension and suspense out of the prequel movies. Whereas the original “Die Hard” movie was none stop tension from start to finish because the audience had no idea if john Mccaine would survive.
The biggest thing you want the reader asking is “what will happen next.” The flow of the story moves forward page after page. But a sudden flashback pulls the reader out of the main storyline and creates a new one. A second story we don’t really care about. It’s tricky getting someone to read a new novel to start with. Most novels are given up after just a few pages because they failed to engage the reader.
CARING FOR THE PROTAGONIST
All new books have the same problem, it involves getting the reader to care about new characters, new problems and subplots. that’s tricky enough as it is. But when you stop the main story to suddenly create a long detailed flashback you’re slamming on the breaks of your main story flow. You’re now you’re asking the reader to care about a brand new story out of nowhere. one that lacks tension.
Most flashbacks lack character arcs, a storyline. A start middle and end, no build-up. It’s just characters talking, revealing character through description, not action. ( this fails to pull the reader into the story. If we wish to get to know someone we have to see them in action.)
NOTHING IS HAPPENING
The author had good intentions. they put the flashback in to make us care about the characters. Letting us see them in their regular life before the main conflict so we can get a better understanding of them. It’s a nice idea, but the flashback lacks a compelling storyline. no tension. no suspense. “nothing is happening.”
The main storyline that drew the reader in does have tension, it has a storyline. With characters arcs. this is what the reader wants. Making them turn the page. however, the new author fails to create any tension or storyline in a flashback. it takes suspense and tension to get someone to read on.
SUSPENSE IS NOT ONLY FOR “THRILLERS”
People think suspense is all about guns, actions, bombs. threats. however, as a writer, you can create suspense in anything. even a family drama or romantic comedy. Even Shakespeare understood this by placing suspense in all his plays. What would Romeo and Juliet be without the family fighting stopping the love lovers from seeing each other? Because suspense is all about wanting to know what will happen next.
Any story can have suspense. comedy, dramas, science fiction. Suspense is not for “thrillers” only. You can have a novel like “Terms of Endearment” have suspense. Leaving the reader wanting to know what will happen next with the mother and daughter’s relationship. In fact, tension and suspense in family dramas work really well.
THERE IS TENSION FROM START TO FINISH
But any flashback thrown in runs the risk of lacking suspense. The author puts in it there for the reader the “get to know the characters” but in reality, we get to know characters through their actions, not their words. Anyone can “say” anything, but it’s what we do that makes us who we are. You can say you’re nice, but if you go around hurting people society will judge you as a bad person. regardless of what you say about yourself.
In the movie “Airplane” a silly funny comedy about a passenger having to land a massive airplane with ill passengers on board it does have suspense. the audience cares about the landing of the plane and the people on board. You wonder if everyone will be safe. Even though you laugh throughout the whole movie you find the tension and suspense from start to finish.
MAKE THE FLASHBACKS CLEVER
However, there are parts of the movie when flashbacks are added. The lead character talks to other passengers about his past relationship with the flight attendant. The flashbacks are funny. however, you cannot help but feel they slow the movie down. They pull us out of the main storyline. The tension created with the main storyline has come to a stop.
Yes the flashbacks were funny, but in reality, we wish to return to the main storyline to see what’s happening with the crew and passengers. thankfully the flashbacks in the movie are short which helps the movie get back on track. If the flashbacks went on for too long it would bring the whole movie to a stop. As a writer, you have to make sure your flashbacks do not stop the story fully. You need to be clever with your flashbacks. do not make them go on for too long at all once.
YOU ONLY HAVE A FEW PAGES TO PULL THEM IN
New writers have very long flashbacks that carry one for chapters on end. The main storyline has stopped and been forgotten. Amateur writers will place too many flashbacks right at the start of the novel. The author is trying to make the reader care and get to know the lead character so we will care about them in the main story later on.
However, the flashback in the beginning going on for pages on end stop the main story for starting. The toughest part of any novel is the beginning. The author only has a few pages to pull the reader into the main storyline. Taking that time to create massive flashbacks stops the story from ever getting started.
YOU HAVE TO “HOOK THEM IN”
All stories are like a train moving forward. They start off slow but get going faster as they move along. This makes it difficult for an amateur writer to pull a reader into their new novel.
Most readers will give up on a novel after the first few pages. as a writer you are aware you only have a few paragraphs at the start to pull someone in. you have to make those paragraphs gold. if someone is bored with your novel at the start they will not read on. no matter how great your novel is in the middle if the beginning is weak they will stop reading.
BREAK THE FLASHBACK UP
Some readers will give your new novel the benefit of the dought and keep reading to “get into the story.” As a writer, you have to “hook them in” right away. Stopping the train from moving forward with a flashback is not good for the novel. It can cause the reader to stop altogether.
Keep in mind information within a flashback can appear in a novel. however, not all at once in the first chapter. It should be broken up throughout the novel. not just dropped on the reader all at once. You can take the flashback information and place some of it in the beginning (just a touch) to get the reader wondering. asking questions. Then later in the novel toss in a little more flashback, causing the reader to wonder and question even more. Turn your flashback into a mystery that is revealed throughout the novel in pieces. But still letting the main storyline flow like a train uninterrupted.
MAKE THE FLASHBACK NEEDED
Keep in mind the information revealed within any flashback needs to play a role in the main storyline at some point. You don’t want the flashback to be pointless. Something has to be revealed in the flashback that will play a major role in the solving of the main story plotline later on. You want the reader to realize the flashback was needed. Something important was revealed. leaving the reader liking the flashback and not regretting wasting their time reading it.
The flashback is like a second story broken up and placed throughout the main story. You don’t want the flashback to be people sitting around talking about nothing. The flashback should have a story arc on to itself with character development. It’s like reading two stories at once. however, don’t place the full flashback all at once stopping the main storyline.
WE CANNOT FEEL THE TENSION AND SUSPENSE
Most flashbacks are “history lessons” happening at the beginning. Letting the reader “catch up” on what’s happening. What happened in the past that leads to the main storyline the book is based on. The problem is most flashbacks are just information “being told” by the writer. A step by step of past events as though you’re reading a newspaper.
As a reader, we do not care about “information”. We care about people. We care about how people react and respond to real-time events. A flashback is alike a newspaper telling is what “has” happened. not “what’s” happening. If difficult to feel tension and suspense over “what has happened.”
WE NEED TO GET TO KNOW THE CHARACTERS
A flashback is like a drone flying in the sky looking down at everything. But in reality, a successful story pulls us into the main character’s world. We see through their eyes. insight into their mind. We see what they see and feel what they feel.
Flashbacks have a tough time doing this. and placing chapters of it at the beginning hurts even more. Because that’s the time the reader should be getting to know the protagonist and storyline.
THE READER NEEDS TO BOND FIRST
As the problem with flashbacks in your novel. Do they hurt or help? should you avoid them? is there a proper why to add them? Mentioned earlier the one genre that has a ton of flashbacks especially at the beginning is fantasy novels. The writer feels they need to feed the reader a ton of backstory for the main story to have an impact. The problem is the reader fails to get into the main story to care about any flashback.
In order for us to care about a flashback, we have to first start by carrying about the main characters so the reader bonds with the protagonist. The reader needs to be pulled into the story. Not just reading it but feeling they are a part of the story. As though it happens to them. But a flashback fails to connect you. You do not feel connected to anyone. Your heart and emotions are not in it. so you don’t feel any need to carry on reading.
ONE OF THE GREATEST FLASHBACKS
One of the best flashbacks was in the movie “The Godfather part 2“. We saw the back story of Don Corleone. We see his childhood and how he came to America.
However, the flashback did not take up the whole beginning of the movie. It was broken up throughout the main storyline. It was its own storyline. The character didn’t just “provide information.” They had their own story arc. It was so good, it could’ve been a movie onto itself. It showed the building of character through action. As you watched you knew it was important. At no point did you feel it was wasting your time. You understood how it played into the main storyline. It wasn’t just “added” to make the movie longer. it was needed.
IT STOPS US FROM CARING
By breaking it up into pieces and placed throughout the movie it gave us a taste of a second storyline line but not all at once. It made the viewer long for the story to see more of it. to see how it concludes.
In order for a story to have full impact, we have to see the events happening in front of us. A flashback is like a newspaper we are told what has happened. By being told we fail to connect or care. We are not seeing the events played out, missing out on tension and suspense.
YOUR STORY IS LIKE AN ARROW
Great stories have a feeling of moving forward. But flashbacks ( information dumps) are what “has” happened. it lacks movement. Making the story standstill. like a car not moving. You want your story to feel like a car moving forward moving from gear to gear. getting faster and faster until the end.
A great story is like an arrow flying forward. Where the reader can sense movement. They can sense something happening. They’re pulled into the moving story. any flashbacks brings it to a halt.
you might be interested in these blogs…
HOW TO PROPERLY PLACE A FLASHBACK IN YOUR NOVEL
HOW TO CONTROL YOUR NOVEL’S PACE
HOW TO WRITE YOUR OWN EPIC TRILOGY NOVELS
